New Tools for an Old Look
If you’ve tried to duplicate the trim profiles in an older home (over 100 years old) or repair antique furniture, it can sometimes be a challenge. Some of the old trim or furniture moldings can’t easily be duplicated with today’s router bits. But there are a couple of ways to get around this problem.
First, Lee Valley just came out with a complete set of router bits that duplicate many of the cutter profiles that used to be available for the old Stanley “55″ plane. This plane was marketed by Stanley as “A Planing Mill Within Itself.” It had replaceable cutters of various profiles (“55″ of them) that you could use to create an endless variety of edge profiles.
And if you can’t find one of those profiles that’ll work for you, Clark and Williams in Arkansas is still making traditional wooden molding planes the old fashioned way. If the traditional profiles won’t do the job, they’ll make a custom profile for you. Now admittedly it’s no small investment to own their planes, but if you do a lot of restoration or custom work, you’ll appreciate what they can do.
Larry Williams of Clark and Williams has been getting some press coverage lately. He was designated the 2006 Arkansas Living Treasure by the Arkansas Arts Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage. You can read more about it here.